Patients and visitors will be paying twice as much for short-term parking at several hospitals from next week.

From Sunday it will cost £2 to park for just 20 minutes at hospitals run by The East Kent health trust.

And for anyone parking up to three hours at the east Kent sites, all costs will increase by a pound.

The hospital car parks are run by the trust, and it say the extra money generated by the hikes will be used to cover costs.

It insists surplus income is reinvested in maintenance and improvements.

The trust is adding 34 pay and display spaces at Kent and Canterbury Hospital car park, which currently suffers from serious overcrowding.

Blue badge holders, weekly tickets, and those parking longer than three hours, will not be affected by the price rises.

Costs to pay-on-foot parking - usually barrier operated with motorists paying on return to their vehicle - will also stay the same.

Watch: Today's news on KMTV